The Procedure for Administering Church Discipline

Church discipline is based upon God’s holiness and is patterned after God’s discipline of the church.

Failure to administer church discipline when it is called for demonstrates a church’s lack of awareness or concern for God’s holiness.

Church discipline is taught in Matthew 18:15-18, Romans 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2:6-11; Galatians 6:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-16; 2 Timothy 2:23-26; Titus 3:10; 2 John 9-11.

1 Corinthians 5:1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves. (NASB95)

The purpose of church discipline is always restoration and not revenge.

The purpose of this discipline is to deliver the offender from sinful patterns of behavior and not to drive him or her away from the fellowship of the church.

The discipline of the church is first patterned after the fact that the Lord Himself disciplines His children (Heb. 12:6) and, as a father delegates part of the discipline of the children to the mother, so the Lord has delegated the discipline of the church family to the church itself (1 Cor. 5:12-13; 2 Cor. 2:6).

The church’s attitude is to be one of love and gentleness (Galatians 6:1-3).

There are several purposes for administering church discipline: (1) To bring glory to God and enhance the testimony of the flock. (2) To restore, heal, and build up sinning believers (Matt. 18:15; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; Heb. 12:10-13; Gal. 6:1-2; Jam. 5:20). (3) To produce a healthy faith, one sound in doctrine (Tit. 1:13; 1 Tim. 1:19-20). (4) To win a soul to Christ, if the sinning person is only a professing Christian (2 Tim. 2:24-26). (5) To silence false teachers and their influence in the church (Tit. 1:10-11). (6) To set an example for the rest of the body and promote godly fear (1 Tim. 5:20). (7) To protect the church against the destructive consequences that occur when churches fail to carry out church discipline.

The scriptural procedure is clear and specific steps are prescribed.

First if one sees the offense or has an accurate knowledge of the sin or sins, one must be sure it calls for discipline and is not merely something that is one of your taboos or pet peeves.

The Word of God will guide us.

Also, we all must know that we have all sinned and so we are to heed the warning in Galatians 6:1.

We also must go to the Father in prayer before we confront the wayward Christian (1 Sam. 8:6).

We are not to procrastinate.

Otherwise, the situation will only get worse.

There is also to be no gossip about the person who is disciplined (cf. Proverbs 6:19; 10:19; 11:13; 18:8, 21; 20:19).

We must first go to the offender in private and seek to correct the situation privately (Matthew 18:15).

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” (NASB95)

One must express genuine appreciation for the person who is the offender.

One is to bring out in the conversation their good qualities.

We must listen to the other person’s side of the story and seek the facts in the interest of truth and fairness.

If the person fails to respond, warn them that, according to the instructions of Scripture (Matt. 18:16), you will have to get others as witnesses and return with them to deal with the problem.

Matthew 18:16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.” (NASB95)

If the first step fails, take witnesses to strengthen the effect of the discipline, preferably spiritual leaders, so that if it has to be brought before the whole church it can be firmly proven and established (Matt. 18:16-17; 1 Tim. 5:19).

Matthew 18:17 “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (NASB95)

The aid of church leadership should be sought if the problem involves an offense that is against the whole body or if it is a threat to the unity of the body.

These initial contacts, private and with witnesses, provide opportunity for correction, and forgiveness in love.

On the other hand, if these first steps do not produce results, it constitutes a warning that further action will be taken and provides occasion for serious rebuke (2 Tim. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:12-13; Titus 2:15; 3:10).

If the second step fails, seek reconciliation and restoration through the whole body.

If further action is necessary, it is to be taken before the whole church (2 Thess. 3:14-15; Matt. 18:17; 1 Tim. 5:20).

2 Thessalonians 3:14 and 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 along with Matthew 18:17 indicate that the church is to exercise group disapproval by way of social ostracism (refusal to have intimate fellowship).

If this does not work, the church is to remove the offender from the church fellowship.

This must be approved of and done by the entire congregation (2 Cor. 2:6).

The Lord is exercising this discipline through the church’s actions.

So we can see that the Scriptures clearly teach that church discipline must and should be administered by the church with regards to certain individuals in the church who are hurting not only themselves through their habitual sinful conduct but also hurting the testimony of the church in the community.

We have seen that the Bible tells us who we are to discipline. It also instructs us as to why we are to discipline.

The Word of God also presents how we are to discipline.

Lastly, it also presents to us the procedure that the church must follow.

We have seen that both the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles taught the church to administer discipline.

The apostle Paul gives us several examples in his epistles in which he ordered discipline to be administered to certain apostate believers in the church.

He severely rebuked the Corinthian church for not practicing it when it should have been.

Therefore, the church today would do well to listen to the voice of the Spirit in the Word of God when it comes to the subject of church discipline.

The consequences of not doing so will be terribly devastating.

First, it injures the life, vitality and testimony of the church.

Secondly, it of course hurts those believers who are habitually living according to the lusts of their sin nature and being deceived by the devil.

Lastly, it is a sin against God and a failure to respect His holy character.